


no place where i'd rather be

by teukchul



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Attempt at Humor, Banter, Family Fluff, Husbands, M/M, Time Travel, Tony Stark is a great dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-08
Packaged: 2020-02-28 13:21:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18757252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teukchul/pseuds/teukchul
Summary: It's 2012 and Tony and Steve have just started dating. It's nice and everything Tony could ask for, if not just a little awkward every now and then - the whole process of friends to lovers always takes a while, nothing to sweat over.That's why Tony's really surprised to wake up after another night at the workshop to Steve kissing him, and informing he'll be dropping their kids off to school.--When 2012 Steve and Tony meet their versions from alternative 2023, many misunderstandings on both ends are just waiting to happen.





	no place where i'd rather be

**Author's Note:**

> did i just spent basically 24 hours straight writing this? it's more likely thank you think.
> 
> original prompt: https://charlesdeservesbetter.tumblr.com/post/184687451968/what-about-a-superhusbands-au-where-tony-and-steve

Mondays are their date nights.

Maybe it isn’t traditional or as romantic as the exciting atmosphere the city has in the weekends, but it works for them for now; Steve doesn’t have schedules on Mondays since he usually works the weekends, flying around the world preventing crime with Clint and Natasha, and Tony has talked Pepper into organizing his goings so that he’s always free too. It was fairly easy to organize, and certainly a reasonable request when it came to Tony’s occasional whims, leaving Pepper as pleased as he was.

It’s late enough to be dark when they step out of the restaurant, Steve laughing so much that he nearly stumbles upon a stair, only being saved by Tony’s quick reflexes and throwing both of them into another set of giggles. The evening air is refreshingly chilly as they walk down the busy street towards Avengers tower, continuing the banter they’ve had going on the whole dinner. 

Once they’re inside, hidden from the street by the reflective glass in the lobby of the tower, Steve turns to Tony, suddenly shy with his hands in his pockets and clearly struggling to keep the eye contact but smiling nonetheless. This is always when Steve still gets the most nervous, the end of the date, so Tony isn't thrown off by it. ”Thank you for the dinner. This was really nice, Tony,” he says and how is it possible he’s blushing from this alone, he is so adorable, Tony’s heart isn’t going to make it-

Tony throws him a pleased grin. ”I had a great time too, Cap. Again next week? Or later this week if we find the time?” Steve nods and smiles, and Tony smiles back at him.

It’s quiet for a second, Tony suddenly unsure if Steve’s waiting for him to lead him all the way to his apartment or waiting for him say something, or wanting to say something himself, or…

Before he has a chance to decide on which it is, Steve coughs and takes a careful step towards him. Tony instantly opens his hands a little, making his body language as encouraging as possible as Steve takes another step and is completely in his space now.

Steve lays his hands carefully to Tony’s waist, the touch uncertain before leaning to peck his lips lightly. Tony leans into it but his hands are sandwiched between them a bit awkwardly, landing on Steve’s biceps and creating an angle where he has to actually lean a bit back to land the taller man’s lips. Meanwhile Steve has clearly misunderstood Tony’s weird posture as a silent request to pull back and while he does just that they somehow manage to bump their noses together in a very non-romantic way.

They stand there for the longest nano-second ever, still a bit too close to each other but not kissing anymore before Steve lets out a nervous giggle. That triggers a snort from Tony too, and suddenly they are both full-on laughing. Steve leans his forehead to his shoulder, and somehow the intimacy of that added to the sound of Steve’s laughter is making Tony’s stomach filled with butterflies.

Once the laughter calms down a little Steve pulls back and rubs his neck. Damn him for looking so good doing anything at all, Tony thinks as his sight is momentarily focused on the bit of skin the motion exposed on Steve’s abdomen.

”Uhm, sorry for that. I’m gonna head upstairs, I have an early morning with Clint tomorrow.” Tony’s eyes shoot back up to Steve’s face as he speaks. He nods and unconsciously rubs his hands together. ”Yeah, yeah, of course. Sure thing. I think I’m gonna stop by the workshop, otherwise I’d offer a ride.”

Steve’s eyebrows burrow a little and it’s clear he’s confused. Tony’s just as confused himself. _What the hell was that?!_ he hisses at himself in his mind, _make it less weird, make it less weird, oh god-_

”On the… On the lift. You know, ride it with you. The lift. So, in conclusion, really just take the lift with you. But I’m not. Cause I’m going downstairs.” _Nailed it._

Steve bites his lips together, clearly amused by Tony’s nervous rambling, and that makes Tony feel at least a little better. ”Well, I’ll just head up by myself then. Good night and thanks again for tonight.” Tony coughs, trying to regain his composure as he gives a what he hopes to be a casual salute. _Oh god, I might as well have shot him the finger guns,_ he groans to himself again _._ ”You too, Steve.” Steve shoots him a final smile before turning to get into the lift.

Once he’s gone Tony brings his hands to his face. ”I’d offer you a ride?!” he mutters to himself under his breath, ”what the hell was that?” Like Steve wasn’t scared enough of some of this stuff without him making it weirder in every turn.

Still shaking his head he makes his way to the staircase leading to his lab, breathing in and out deeply and trying to send his guts the message that they wouldn’t be getting any that night, despite the lovely date and clear sexual tension between them. Steve isn’t ready, and Tony respects that. He’ll wait as long as he needs to. Hell, his impatience wasn’t even about sex at all (like the shoulder leaning -incident before had proved), he just wishes they could move on from the first phase of a new relationship to the next.

Tony isn’t bitter in the slightest, really. Beginning of every relationship he has had during his forty years has started more or less like this. And in those relationships his partner hadn’t just woken up after 70 years on ice. He knows Steve has a lot of stuff to figure out, he isn’t even a year into 21st century and so much has already gone down in those odd few months up to now. The possible gay panic Steve’s dealing with is certainly on the bottom of the list of being attacked by _fucking aliens_ and demigods and men flying in iron suits when it comes to stuff to come in terms with.

Tony watches his adorable confusion with facing the modern coffee maker every morning, for gods sake, he isn’t gonna force Steve into anything he isn’t completely, 100% comfortable with.

But that doesn’t take away the fact that he’s finally going out with _Captain fucking America_ who’s objectively the most handsome man Tony has ever seen, and not just handsome but insanely hot, too, and it’s taking a toll on Tony’s heart to be constantly so turned on. That isn’t Steve’s problem in the slightest, of course, but it isn’t like Tony can just turn it off either.

He sighs as he enters the workshop, sitting down in front of his desk. Time for some engineering to get his mind off Steve’s ass. He does it so frequently nowadays he could probably start calling it a hobby at this point. _Yay._

Attempting to clear his head he slaps his cheeks lightly and blows off some air before stretching his hands over his head. ”Jarvis, give me the tesseract blueprints again.” ”At once, sir.”

The screens filled with formulas and illustrative pictures appear over his desk. He leans back in his chair, hands behind his neck as he reads over the descriptions for the nth time, after a while asking Jarvis to open his notes from the night before and getting into work.

Ever since after the attack on New York six months ago Tony has made it his mission to figure out teleportation using the operational model of the Tesseract. He doesn’t buy Thor’s opinion of it being ’simply magic’ and so forth something that humans weren’t capable of recreating; everything in the universe is math when you brake it into small enough pieces, and math follows certain rules of physics. This ’magic’ is simply math that hasn’t been figured out yet, Tony’s sure of it, and he has never been one to shy out from a challenge.

He plays around with random ideas well into the am-hours. When he catches himself yawning, it makes him check the time: half past two. It isn’t even remotely late in his standards but he decides he’s done for the night anyway, not having made any remarkable progress in the last hour or so.

He’s just about to tell Jarvis to pack it for the night when one more idea strikes him. _Might as well try it out now and then get to bed so I can start fresh tomorrow_ , he muses.

”Jarvis, are you familiar with quantum physics?” ”Very much so, sir.” ”Good. Hit me with Foster’s formula’s section six, matter’s energy output and exchange sub-model and then add in the mix Banner’s calculations from the New Mexico numbers compared to the ones from New York. Unite them and then put them into works with an arc reactor engine.”

Tony’s spinning in his chair, his mind rather far away from the work at his point as his AI makes the calculations. This is a long shot anyway, there was no way-

”Model created successfully.”

Tony almost falls from his spinning chair.

”W-What?” he crooks, and Jarvis answers him calmly as always with the pictures of the model. Tony eyes it, still unable to believe what he’s seeing. ”And… And the laws of thermodynamics apply?” ”The amount of entropy remains stable, sir.”

”Well, shit,” is all that Tony’s capable of saying to that. Did he really just invent teleport?!

”Print me a model, J.” ”At once, sir.” Adrenaline filling his veins, he almost falls over when he stands up too fast, his hands shaking as he walks to the 3D printer in the corner of the room. He stares at the machine, waiting impatiently for the model to be finished.

How do you even tell anyone about something like this? How to ease something like this into a conversation naturally without immediately sounding like he was trying to boast? _Hi, so, you know how I sometimes like to throw ideas around? I figured out teleportation. What’s up with you, Bruce?_ He decides to tell Thor first, just to rub it in his face he was wrong.

He wonders if Steve will be amazed by him, look at the screens with that cute expression where his eyes were wide and mouth slightly open, if he’ll turn to Tony with that prideful glint in his eyes…

”The model is finished, sir. I would, however, refrain from touching it with bare hands as-” Before Jarvis has a chance to finish, Tony who’s deep in thought still has already grabbed the tiny cube the printer just finished, and everything goes dark.

 

Tony’s having an amazing dream.

There’s a comforting weight of someone sitting next to him in a bed, of someone gently playing with his hair, of someone calling his name sweetly. And finally, someone pressing kisses all over his face, first on the forehead, then on both cheeks, on his nose, and finally, finally to his lips.

It takes a while to realize that the feeling of someone kissing him isn’t a dream, it’s the thing pulling him away from the dream.

Tony opens his eyes confusedly. He has kissed Steve enough times to recognize his lips, but it can’t be him. There’s something scratching Tony’s lower lip, almost as if-

”Good morning, honey. I’m so sorry to wake you up but you have that meeting with Pepper today and I promised you wouldn’t be late. I’ll make it up to you tonight, I promise.” Steve has pulled out from his lips just enough to say that and wink, _fucking wink_ , before diving in for an additional peck.

Except that it isn’t Steve. Cause the man who has his hands on the bed both sides of Tony’s head, and is kissing him, and talking to him like he was supposed to know what it was about, has a beard.

Steve Rogers. With a beard.

This can’t be real.

He’s still staring at the man looming over him with wide eyes. The not-Steve giggles. ”I must’ve woken you up from deep sleep. How are you so cute this early in the morning?” Yep, that seals the deal. No way would Steve call him cute, at least without turning ten different shades of red in the process. This is some kind of a simulation. Or a fever dream. Or maybe Loki?

”I promised to drive the kids to school, I have to go so they won’t be late. I’ll drop them to Nat’s after school too so you don’t have to worry about that. We’ll see at the restaurant, yeah?” The not-Steve seems to be waiting for some reaction so Tony nods slowly, hoping it will be enough. The not-Steve smiles widely, so he takes it as a success.

”Can’t wait for our date. Have a nice day honey!” The bearded man kisses his forehead for a final time before standing up and walking away.

Tony lays there for good ten minutes, just blinking with a blank face and staring to the ceiling, before he realizes there’s something in his ring finger.

 

Steve’s fresh from the shower as he walks through the living room where their weekly movie nights take place. He has already been to his morning jog but finds all the common rooms still empty, seemingly indicating that everyone else is still asleep or already on their way. He and Clint agreed to see at the SHIELD headquarters at 9 o’clock sharp, so he guesses he’s already there to set up their presentation to the new agent recruits.

He goes to the kitchen and pulls out some fruits from the fridge. He has decided that this will be the day he would overcome the mixer without having to wake up anyone to help him.

He starts to chop the banana, humming some radio hit stuck in his head for days now under his breath as he suddenly feels hands on his hips.

Instinctively he flinches from the hold and turns around, only to find Tony standing there with his hands up in surrender, an amused look on his face. ”Oh, did I scare you? I’m sorry, baby.” He brings his hands back to the blond’s hipbones as he speaks, smirk on his lips, and Steve feels lightheaded as all the blood from his brain is now giving his face a red cover. He’s so out of it that he doesn’t react in any way as Tony plants his lips to his and kisses him deeply.

”I honestly can’t remember the last time I fell asleep on the garage. But you must’ve been just as tired since you didn’t come to wake me up to come to bed, either. And- Wait a second, you shaved?! Why!” Steve physically feels his brain trying to make sense from Tony’s words only to come up with nothing.

Shaved? Of course, is it really that surprising, he has kept his face clean the whole time he’s been on this century. And when has he ever told Tony to go to sleep? He respects his privacy, wouldn’t just barge into his workshop like that if Tony was sleeping. Yeah, he has mentioned it few times that it would do him good to sleep more and in a more comfortable space but he has never- Come to bed? Not go to bed?! What was that about? Wh-

Tony’s hands are still casually on his waist and he’s now caressing his thumbs there too, almost as if he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it as he looks arounds. ”What time is it, anyway? Did you take the kids to school?” Steve frowns. This has to be a prank of some kind. ”What kids?” he asks slowly, cautiously, waiting for Tony to throw him some cheesy punch line.

Instead Tony just looks at him with a slightly puzzled look on his face, his eyebrows frowning.

”…Our kids?”

Steve lets out a stressed laugh. It’s too early for this.

”Tony, what are you talking about?” Tony pulls away a little to get a better look at his face but still holding his waist. ”Are you okay, honey?” Steve lets out a noise somewhere between a gasp and a slightly hysterical snort. ”Are you?! We don’t have kids!”

Now Tony looks almost insulted as he finally lets go of his middle, prompting Steve to take a step back. ”Seriously, Steve, what are you on about?” His face, however, relaxes immediately after saying that. ”Oh, were they that impossible this morning? I know how it can be, if Harvey and Peter really get into it it’s such a pain in the ass to try to-”

”Tony, listen to me,” Steve interrupts him, hands in front of himself like he’s afraid Tony will near him again, ”I really, really like you, and I think this has been going really well, but we have been dating for few weeks. If this is some Tony-esque way of telling me you want to… I don’t even know, get more serious, or actually have kids? I’m just not ready, I’m sorry if this is going too slowly for you but I thought-” It hurts to think Tony doesn’t have the patience for him to work things out, but he can’t really call him out for it, either. ”I’m just, not in the mood to even joke about this right now, Tony. I’m sorry.”

Tony’s whole face is now filled with worry instead of confusion, and Steve sighs out in relief. It was just some prank, and now Tony knows it wasn’t funny-

”Steve, my darling,” Tony interrupts his train of thought again as he takes his hands to his. His voice is warm and he’s speaking slowly, like he fears Steve is not in a condition to understand. ”We have been married for seven years. We have three children. Harvey, Peter and Morgan. Remember them?” he says with his face a mixture of worry that he tries to hide as amusement.

Steve takes another step back, now his whole back against the fridge. ”…No?!” he says helplessly. Has Tony hit his head in the workshop? Is he under some spell? Is it Loki?!

Tony stares at him for a long while, and Steve is getting more and more sure he has concussion as his eyes keep searching his face. Little by little Tony’s expression morphs from hurt to suspicion to realization.

Finally, he speaks again but the words come out slowly and he, in turn, takes a step back. ”You’re not my husband.” Steve lets out a breath. ”…No, I’m not. We’ve been dating for like, six weeks, Tony. I am not your husband.” Tony doesn’t seem to listen, he just stares intently into his eyes.

”What year is it?” Steve is exasperated. ”2012?” Tony’s eyes widen. ”Shit,” is all he mutters before he turns around and runs for the stairs leading to the workshop. Steve tries calling his name after him, getting really worried now, and has now idea but to run after him to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.

The bananas and the unused mixer will have to wait another while.

 

Tony has finally managed to get up from the (what he now realizes is not only kingsized but also clearly been used on the other side as well) bed. He takes cautious steps forward, half of him waiting for the floor to give out under him as this is clearly a dream. Nice dream, that he won’t deny, with a wet dreamy not-Steve that apparently thinks they have children, but dream nonetheless.

The floor doesn’t liquidize when he stands up, but that doesn’t prove anything.

He walks to a bookshelf leaning against the same wall with the door that Steve left through. On his left there’s an open door to a spacious bathroom with a huge bathtub, clearly big enough for two people. What a weirdly specific detail, Tony muses and turns his attention back to the bookshelf. No harm in looking around for a bit before he wakes up.

There’s a photo folder around his eye-height which draws his attention. He reaches for it and it feels weirdly real. He doesn’t let it bother himself as he opens the book. His breath is caught in his throat from the first page, already; it’s a picture of him and Steve, taken by the latter. Tony himself is kissing his cheek and Steve’s clearly laughing.

It’s a nice picture.

He continues browsing through the pages filled with pictures of the two of them, together and with other people. In one of them they are on a picnic with Natasha, Clint and two men Tony doesn’t recognize. He reads the text, written in Steve’s neat handwriting: Central park, 2014, with Nat, Clint, Sam and Bucky. Who the hell are Sam and Bucky? 2014? That makes no sense. Well, except that it does, ’cause this is a dream and the only thing that makes sense is that it doesn’t make sense.

He flips the pages faster and suddenly he has trouble breathing again.

It’s a picture of him and Steve. They are clearly outside, and it’s summer, and the sun is making the trees behind glow beautifully. They are both wearing tuxedos, and looking at each other, and smiling, and this is very clearly a picture from their wedding. The next few pages are all filled with those, of them laughing together and being very clearly in love. There are many people with them; some of them Tony recognizes, most he doesn’t.

This was getting a bit too bizarre for his liking.

After the wedding photos there are clearly ones from their honeymoon, some of which were very candid. Tony feels almost dirty looking at such private photos, but then again they do feature him and his boyfriend, so…

He can’t take his eyes off Steve; he looks so happy, so relaxed, so content. Maybe it’s just the fact that his hair is a bit longer, not the strict 40’s military cut anymore, or the fact that it seems like they had _a lot_ of sex during that vacation, but something in his eyes seems different in a very beautiful way. It makes Tony smile, even if it isn’t really his Steve.

He puts the folder down and picks up the one that was leaning against the first one in the shelf, but this time the shock factor comes in with the very first page.

 _Our gang, new year 2023_. Tony knows his own handwriting, there’s no question it wasn’t written by him. He stares at the picture, unconsciously brings the folder closer to his face. Steve’s holding a little girl in his left arm and has his right one around a teenager, probably somewhere between 10 and 12, and next to him is Tony himself with a maybe six or seven year old boy clinging from his neck on his back. They are all laughing at something.

They do look like a fun gang. They look like a happy family.

Tony feels cold sweat starting to form all over his skin as he continues to stare at the children between them. He tries to muffle a slightly panicked voice in the back of his mind that’s reminding him of the study he read a while back which stated that human mind wasn’t capable of making up human faces, and yet he’s suddenly really sure he has never seen any of these kids before. And the girl especially looks too much like Tony to be some random kid he has just happened to bypass in the streets. Could it be…?

”Jarvis,” Tony says slowly, but to his shock he doesn’t receive an answer. ”Jarvis!” he tries again, louder this time as he turns towards the room again, but again is only met with silence. ”What the-” He turns to push the folder back to the shed and runs his hands over his hair like he has a habit of doing when he’s anxious. If this is somehow real, and Jarvis isn’t there to help him figure it out…

”Jarvis hasn’t worked for you in years, sir.” A robotic female voice suddenly fills the room, making Tony almost jump out of his skin.

”Jesus… Who the fuck are you?!” ”I’m FRIDAY, sir. I’ve been your AI system for a while now.” ”What- When- What happened to Jarvis?!” ”You, doctor Banner and doctor Cho combined your skill sets to create the world’s first completely artificial human in 2015. It was a historic event, sir, you received a lot of praise and recognition for it.”

Tony feels like he’s gonna either faint or throw up as he drops himself to sit on the bed.

”Jarvis… Jarvis is a person now?” ”He is, indeed, now his own person by the name Vision Maximoff. You saw him just last weekend for Harvey’s 10th birthday party. Are you okay, sir?” Tony runs his hand over his face before blinking a couple of times. ”Yeah. Yeah, I’m completely fine, thanks for asking. Just one more question, Friday, was it? Who the hell is Harvey?”

It’s silent for a moment before the woman speaks again. ”Harvey Stark-Rogers is an adoptive son of Anthony and Steven Stark-Rogers. He was saved from an orphanage fire during a mission little over six years ago by Captain America and has lived with his new parents ever since. He’s an older brother to Pet- Sir, your heart rate is going dangerously up. Should I call for aid?”

Tony hasn’t even realized he’s hyperventilating before the AI points it out. He tries to sit up straighter and shake his head clear but it doesn’t help to make the situation any more coherent. ”Am I awake, not-Jarvis?” It’s silent for a while again, and Tony has no doubt that if a robotic voice could sound concerned, this would be it. ”Yes, mister Stark. You were woken up 37 minutes ago by your husband.”

Tony lets out a nervous laugh at that. _Your husband_ does have a nice ring to it, that he has to admit. ”Right. Where am I?” ”You are in Avengers tower’s top penthouse apartment, the Stark-Rogers Residence, in New York, New York, United States of America, planet Eart-” ”What time is it?” ”It is currently nearing twenty to eight in the morning, sir, the date is 14th of May 2023. Would you like to know the weather too, mister Stark?”

Mister Stark didn’t provide an answer. He isn’t sure if he wants to know the wether. He doesn’t know anything at all that moment except that he has to suddenly lay down again.

 

Once Steve finally catches up to Tony (who isn’t a keen runner, doesn’t enjoy to do anything in a rush, except when he’s in this certain mindset, wanting to figure something out, and once he was, there was no way of stopping him). Steve is still by the door when Tony curses something in Italian before crossing his hands over his chest as he stops in front of the screens. ”Tony, what-”

”FRIDAY, give me yesterday’s log.” Steve frowns. ”Tony, it’s Tuesday, did you hit your head or-” ”Oh, right! 2012,” Tony suddenly talks over him, drumming his finger anxiously against the table and making Steve snap his lips closed. He has no idea what’s going on but that didn’t make him like Tony’s habit of interrupting everyone when he’s in the zone any more likable for him. He’s just about to voice his annoyance but this time Tony stops him before he can even start. ”Jarvis, give me yesterday’s security tape from this room.”

”At once, sir.” Tony lets out a happy, pleased laugh. ”Long time no see, buddy.” Steve has to bring his right hand to rub his eyes, suddenly feeling really tired. Is Jarvis behind this? Did Tony insult it, him (Steve’s very confused by the concept of AI still, has no idea what to call him. It?!) and Jarvis took his revenge by making DUM-E hit him in the head or something? He shakes his head and walks deeper into the room, watching Tony look at the tape intensely. If he had called the medics the moment he realized Tony wasn’t okay they’d probably be here by now…

”Oh that fool…” Tony mutters something under his breath and shakes his head lightly, ”that absolute fucking moron.” Steve turns to glance at the screen and finds it to be just Tony being Tony, talking about something Steve doesn’t understand with the AI as he designs some thing or another. He doesn’t understand Tony’s hard stance on himself. ”Tony. I’m about to call SHIELD to send someone to take a medical check on you, and I need you to be nice once they arrive.”

Tony waves his hand, clearly not having listened a word he was saying. ”Yeah, yeah. I’m sorry, I just have to check something real quick.” Steve is a bit hurt by Tony’s attitude towards him, after all the work they have done for their relationship the last few months. Tony still hasn’t looked away from the screen in front of them so Steve turns his eyes back as well, just in time to see Tony get up from his chair and walk to the printer. And take something from it. _And then disappear completely. Into thin air._

What the fuck?

”You… You just… Is this a trick shot? Like the ones in movies nowadays?” Steve turns to look at Tony again and finds him staring at the screen with a blank face that Steve knows to mean deep disappointment. It’s possible he hasn’t seen Tony look so unimpressed ever before, he realizes. ”That dipshit…” he mutters to himself again and sighs deeply before turning to Steve.

As if he had forgotten he was there his eyes suddenly widen and he finally holds the eye-contact. ”Right, wait, first things first. I’m so sorry I groped you in the kitchen. I thought you were my husband, since you look exactly like him and were in the kitchen of our home but still, unacceptable.” Steve’s mouth falls open in frustration. ”Tony, for the last time, I’m not your husband!” ”I know! That’s exactly what I’m saying. But I’m not Tony either. Well, I am, but not your Tony.” Steve is starting to think he’s the one who’s mind is playing tricks on him, after all.

”You’re not making any sense.” ”I am though, kinda. That idiot we just watched there has meddled with something way out of his league and brought us all into this mess. Fuck, Steve’s gonna have my head for missing the date night, and I know he’ll blame me even though it’s all this idiots fault…”

It’s Steve’s turn to interrupt him. ”Are… Are you for real? This is not a joke?” He’s still all over his head but decides that so much unbelievable stuff has happened since he got into 21st century that this would be just another mess in the mix, eventually. That is more believable to him than Tony taking a prank on him this far, he realizes.

The look on Tony’s eyes softens as he looks over at Steve’s completely lost expression. ”No, this is not a joke. I’m from 2023. And I’m guessing the Tony you know is stuck there, now. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

There’s nothing Steve can do but nod dumbly, wondering what the hell his life has become.

 

”Tony, are you okay? You sounded kinda off in the phone.”

After Tony managed to calm down a bit (after rolling around in the bed and screaming into a pillow ’cause it smelled so much both like Steve and sex and that was definitely too much right now) he had sat up again and in a very, very calm and collected manner, thank you very much, asked Friday to first cancel the whatever meeting not-Steve was talking about (the other Tony would have to deal with the outcome of that, no doubt) and then ask her to call his husband himself. The one who had apparently just returned home.

Tony turns towards the door to see not-Steve nearing with a worried look on his face. ”I’m fine, it’s just…” He’s cut off as Steve sits down to his lap, leaving him wide eyed and stunned and speechless but Steve acts like it isn’t a big deal (which it probably isn’t in this reality, then), just sits there like he had plopped himself to any part of the couch at all as he lifts his hand to his forehead. ”Your eyes look a bit sick but it doesn’t feel like you have fever.” Steve pouts as he speaks, he’s clearly worried for him, and Tony’s eyes are automatically drawn to the thick lips. He can’t help licking his own, getting Steve’s attention in turn.

The taller man smirks and leans closer so that their lips are almost touching. Tony knows he should stop this, should tell this Steve he’s not who he thinks he is, but he’s frozen in place, unable to speak up. ”Or could it be so that you were just so eager to have the place for ourselves that you wanted to skip the dinner?” Steve bites his lip and let’s their noses touch. ”Can’t argue with that logic,” is the last thing he whispers before attacking Tony’s lips, and if Tony was speechless before he’s absolutely fucking stripped from any and all power to command of his movements now.

Steve has put his arms around his neck and Tony automatically puts his own to his back, moaning as Steve moves in his lap. The super soldier smiles into the kiss and pushes Tony to lay back on the couch, their lips never parting. Tony has trouble keeping up with him. This Steve is so eager and willing, pushy even, and Tony absolutely loves it.

But he also knows this is wrong, and he would never take advantage of Steve. Not even this Steve, not any Steve in any reality.

So he pulls away from the kiss and puts his hands to Steve’s shoulders. Steve pulls away immediately, and Tony’s heart clenches when he sees the lost look on the blonde’s face. ”Wait, did I misunderstand? I’m sorry-” ”I’m not who you think I am.”

Steve stares at him for a moment confusedly before letting out a nervous laugh. ”What are you talking about?” Tony takes a deep breathe, running his hands through his hair. ”I’m not your husband.” Steve doesn’t still look convinced but pushes himself further away on the couch so that he’s sitting next to Tony’s legs now, not laying on top of them.

”If this is a joke, I don’t understand…” ”This is going to sound really weird but bear with me, okay? I’m Tony Stark, I’m just not the Tony Stark you know. I’m from the past. And not even the past you know, apparently, but from another timeline completely.

Steve stares at him for a while, blinking his eyes in confusion before he squints his eyes. ”Is it you, Loki? Look, I told you I was flattered but I love my husband very much and aren’t interested-” Tony sit up and points at him excitedly. ”That’s what I thought too! That’s the only logical-” He shuts up as Steve stands up and reaches his hand out to the air on his side.

Tony is confused until a familiar noise flies past him, and no, it can’t be…

”If you’re not my husband and you’re not my friend’s brother, I don’t know what you are, but I do know that you’ve broken into my home and done something to my Tony.” Tony doesn’t even have it in himself to focus on the beautiful echo of ’my Tony’ cause Steve’s pointing Mjölnir, _fucking Mjölnir_ , to his face and that’s too much.

He jumps up too and in turn cups his own face and then points both of them to the hammer in his hand. ”Since when?!” is all he manages to crook out, and Steve lift an eyebrow, clearly surprised that this is where Tony’s concern lays even when he’s familiar with the hammer’s concept — and therefore, with the power it holds.

”Since when what?” ”You’ve been able to operate that thing?!” Steve looks down to the weapon of a demigod in his hand and shrugs. ”Since I woke up from the ice? What do you know about it? Are you questioning _my_ worthiness after you’ve trespassed into my apartment?!” ”No, no, god, no!” Tony finally realizes Steve still doesn’t believe him and is holding a weapon with _a lot_ destructive force behind it, and that he really should be smarter about this, as intriguing as it would be to find out what was different about Steve (and Tony himself, for that matter) in this reality, different enough for Steve to be worthy.

He lifts his hands up in surrender, knows Cap’s moral code won’t let him strike a surrender, hopefully on this universe either. ”Okay, okay, let’s calm down for a while, okay? I don’t wanna harm you, and I don’t want you to harm me either, and I think you don’t really wanna hurt me either, cause I’m a version of your… your husband, I guess.” Steve clearly isn’t convinced, and that’s the Steve Tony knows, and it makes him both smile and sight in exasperation.

”Please listen to me, and decide for yourself if this isn’t something Tony Stark wouldn’t do, especially like, over ten years ago. I was at the workshop, just trying to figure some thing out, when I accidentally invented teleport. Or I thought I did, except that what I really did was just replicate the technique of the Tesseract, and I didn’t take into account that I have no idea how to navigate it, and so I woke up here, and I’m guessing the Tony Stark you know is somewhere out there in an alternative universe to him as well, maybe even where I came from.”

Steve doesn’t say anything for a while and Tony can only pray that he believes him cause he has no idea if the suits will answer his call in this reality, and if Steve decides to start to hit things, for example his head, with the hammer, it’s not going to be pretty.

After a while Steve sighs and puts mjölnir down to the sofa table before dropping down to the couch and groaning.

”You really are Tony, aren’t you?”

Tony grins and snaps his fingers, throwing finger guns at the exasperated man there. This is payback for all the shit he gets for being a ’reckless dumbass’ sometimes, especially from Steve; he’s occasional but admittedly fairly consistent (and apparently interuniversal, too) dumbass-ery just saved the day.

 

Tony comes up from the workshop to find Steve sitting on the couch and staring at a wall. He coughs lightly to his fist to get his attention and when Steve turns his gaze to him he waves at him, trying to break the tension. ”Hi there. I figured out a way to navigate that thing, Jarvis needs an hour or something to print the piece we need. Just as an update, you don’t have to suffer me for long anymore.” Steve smiles politely at him and nods slightly, acknowledging he has heard but then turns back to the wall.

Tony frowns. He doesn’t like to see Steve, any Steve, looking hurt like that.

He takes careful steps towards him and sits on the couch too, not too close though; from years and years of experience of Steve he knows he sometimes needs his space. ”If you wanna talk about it, about anything… I know I’m not probably your ideal person to talk to, especially right now, but then again I’m a good listener.” Steve shoots him a look and Tony sighs. ”… I am though, maybe not yet where you’re at _but I am_. You’ve told me as much yourself.” Steve doesn’t have the energy to react to what’s clearly meant as something to lighten the mood.

Tony looks him over, concern clear in his eyes. ”I know that face,” his voice is gentler this time, and it catches Steve’s attention, ”and I know it means you’re frustrated or worried or overwhelmed, and I’m thinking it might be a mixture of all of those right now, and I don’t like it that you’re probably all in your head about it. Talk to me.”

Steve looks the man sitting on the couch over again. He’s so much like the Tony he knows, and yet so different; he’s clearly older than the Tony Steve’s used to, he realizes it now, but not from his physical appearance as much as his… glow. He clearly still has trouble listening and being present to others when he’s focused on something, and he still has some of that edge that Steve’s grown to like, but something about him is, indeed, gentler. He has lines at the corner of his eyes but the don’t make him look old, they make him look loved and like he has laughed and smiled a lot.

That somehow soothes Steve. At least some version of him has known how to take care of Tony, or at least been there to see him take care of himself.

He turns his gaze back to Tony’s whose still looking at him. The look on his eyes isn’t pressing but encouraging, even though Steve still feels silly talking to this man, especially opening up to him, there’s something in that look that nudges him over the line he has drawn in his mind to protect himself, to protect others.

”It’s just-” He doesn’t get farther before letting out a frustrated groan, needing a moment to collect his thoughts. Tony just sits there, patiently waiting for Steve to be ready. ”Every time I think I’ve somehow got things figured out here, like, as in here in the future, something like this happens. And every time I tell myself that now I’ll be more prepared when it happens again. But I’m not. I’m always as confused and helpless and in need of guidance and that is just wasting everyone’s time. I’m scared I’ll never feel completely at place here, and that makes me scared to let myself get tangled in other people’s lives. Especially Tony’s.”

He’s surprised of some of the things that come pouring out of his mouth now that the dam’s been broken, and is instantly embarrassed over it. ”I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-” Without he gets to say more he feels someone taking his hand to his. He looks up to Tony and doesn’t find him weirded out or looking down at him with pity. There’s nothing but warmth in Tony’s smiling face and it moves something in Steve, and to his horror he feels tears forming in his eyes.

”Hey, it’s alright,” Tony says and scoots a little closer still so that they’re sitting next to each other now but still a polite gap between their tights, ”it’s okay to be overwhelmed. It’s okay to be lost, it’s okay to not be okay. But you should really talk to someone about it. Biggest problems arise from keeping things to yourself, okay, it’s much worse than crying.” ”But I’m the team leader! I have to be there for everyone, I don’t wanna add to their emotional package ’cause I need so much help just getting the laundry machine going!”

”Hone- Steve,” Tony corrects himself from using the endearment and it makes Steve think he might have had a similar discussion with his Steve some other time, ”no one is expecting you to be perfect in everything. No on wants you to deal with this stuff alone, least of all me, okay?” Tony reaches to wipe off a tear from Steve’s cheek, and to his own surprise Steve finds himself leaning into the palm of his hand.

Tony let out a trademark, dashing Tony smile at that. ”I know things were different in the 40s but here it’s okay to show emotion, okay? And it’s getting better all the time in the future, too. Talking about it will help a whole lot, and you don’t have to lose stuff over not feeling completely in control all the time. It might even help you come closer to your team to show some insecurity, I know for sure it’ll make your Tony feel more at ease with you. Cause, and I’m sorry to be such a gossip girl, but he’s got it bad for you.”

That makes Steve smile a little. He feels a lot better already, and even though the thought is still slightly mortifying, he knows what this Tony is saying makes sense and is true. This wise, brilliant man that has all the best qualities of his Tony and then some more. He can only hope the Steve in his universe is as good for this Tony as he is for him.

Tony sees that Steve has calmed down and that makes him smile even wider. ”There you go,” he says and puts his arm around Steve to pat his shoulder. Almost unconsciously Steve leans to him slightly, prompting Tony to leave his hand around him. ”There you go,” he says again, ”hug it out. That’s what I tell my sons every time they fight over something dumb.” Steve huffs out a laugh.

”Fatherhood really suits you, doesn’t it?” Tony makes a face that says _I don’t know about that_ but it’s clear he’s exaggerating. ”Some days more than others,” he settles on, but Steve knows he’s just pleased of Steve’s observation.

 

Tony has been trying to draft a way to un-fuck this mess for some half an hour, but finally the pressing stare he’s been subjected to the whole time gets to him.

He turns in his chair to Steve throwing him a dirty look. ”Hey, I said I’m sorry!” he says exasperatedly, knowing what’s making him so frustrated is more guilt than the (fairly) justifiable weight of Steve’s unimpressed gaze.

He expects a rant, that’s what that look always means, but instead the Steve in front of him sighs and relaxes his expression, turning away. ”I know. I’ll just rather be mad to you instead of my Tony when he comes back. If he ever comes back, that is.” Tony pouts at that. If that’s what he worried about…

”Of course he will. If this was my reality I’d do anything at all to come back, trust me.” Steve turns to look at him and a little smile makes its way to his lips. _He’s just as cute_ , Tony thinks for the millionth time since he had came across this Steve, _bearded and a decade older, he still manages to be just as cute_.

”Yeah, I know. This is mostly just… Well. I was really looking forward for tonight.” ”Hm?” ”I love our kids more than anything, I really do, but we’re almost never alone anymore and when we are…Well. You know. It’s special. And now our night out for this month is ruined.”

Tony can’t hide his surprise as well as he manages to keep his slight fascination, half grossed out feelings on check. ”So you’re… You still… ” Steve looks at him waiting for him to go on and god, it’s not like Tony should be such a teenager about this. ”You know, I’ve just heard that once you get married and get kids and all that, things kinda, slow down in that sector. And I’m, yikes, over fifty already here, aren’t I?” Somehow discussing his hypothetical sex-life in the future becomes much more appealing when the opposing topic in his mind is falling into an existential crisis over aging.

Steve is still looking at him with a crooked eyebrow, clearly amused. ”Oh, we do. We do. I mean, not as much ’cause there’s just simply not as much time for the two of us, exactly like I just complained, but when we do have the time… There are some benefits to growing old together, you know. The way we know each other bodies… And about you being fifty? Don’t worry about that, at all, cause… Hot damn. You age like a fine red wine. You just keep on getting better.” Steve’s eyes go hazy and it’s clear his reminiscing as he licks his lips unconsciously. ”Damn, I wish he was here.”

Tony stares at him, eyes very much focused on the said lips. He’s super, super weirded out but also kinda intrigued. ”Well,” he starts carefully, getting Steve to pay attention to him again, ”if you really wanted to, I guess it wouldn’t _really_ be cheating since I’m basically-” Steve silences him with a scoff. ”Don’t even try. I’m faithful to my husband.”

Tony accepts it without a complaint. It was a long shot, anyway, and he would’ve probably be more scared if he had said yes. He nods in understanding. ”Well, you’re definitely hornier but there’s definitely still some of my Steve left.” Steve looks like he’s about to protest but the words die on his lips as he takes a moment to think about it, after which he seemingly has to agree with Tony judging from the look on his face. It makes Tony laugh a little.

”It wasn’t meant as a roast, mind you.” ”I know.” Tony squints his eyes. ”You’re being weirdly calm about all of this.” ”Am I now?” ”Yeah. I’m afraid your husband isn’t getting as gentle a treatment.” It makes Steve crack up a bit. ”Yeah, you’re probably right. I was kinda stuck up at times, wasn’t I?”

Tony still isn’t used to this calm, joking Steve he’s facing. He's clearly the same kind, understanding and loving Steve Tony knows but there’s definitely a new sense of confidence and playfulness in the stead of the wrecking uncertainty and unforgiving weight of responsibility, too. To have him joke about himself like that? It’s endearing, and it’s so heart-warming to see how far he has come, how much he has grown to love himself.

In a sudden epiphany Tony realizes that those are qualities usually attached to him. Could it be so that he had actually been a good influence on Steve? Made him happier, more relaxed and more content? The thought sent butterflies down Tony’s spine.

”Can I… Can I ask you something?” he stutters out. Steve nods, and Tony takes a deep breathe. ”Can you tell me about our kids?”

Steve’s whole face lights up and god, it’s so clear how much Steve loves them. ”We have three kids,” he starts softly, ”Harvey just turned ten, Peter is seven and Morgan three. The boys are adopted, Harvey when he was five and Peter a year after that, when he was four. With Morgan we used surrogate.” Tony nods stiffly. That’s why he had found he to resemble him. What a frightening thought. Which sends him right to his next question that comes out a bit hurried.

”Am I a good father, Steve?” Uneasiness tries to strangle his insides as Steve shakes his head in surprise and let out a strangled laugh. ”Tony,” he says and turns so that he’s completely facing him now, looking almost insulted by the question, ”you are an amazing father.” Tony let’s out a shuddering breath, one he didn’t realize he was holding.

”The three of them, they… they adore you. Peter is practically your shadow, he doesn’t wanna leave you out of his sight. You’ve began to teach Harvey about physics and machinery already and he loves it, you spend hours in the workshop just building stuff and Peter’s there whining about wanting to be included but since he’s too little to build anything himself you and Harvey usually end up building stuff for him. And Morgan… You two give me grey hair with your shenanigans. She has you around her pinkie so tightly, I’ll have you know,” Steve says and doesn’t look even a little upset over it. Tony’s heart is clenching.

”You are a wonderful father, Tony,” Steve repeats, ”you never lose your patience with them. You’re always there for them. Just like you’re there for me, cause somehow you manage to be both an amazing dad but an amazing husband too.” Tony honest to god blushes, and wow, he can’t remember the last time that happened.

”What- What happened? For you to get here?” _How can I have this in my reality, too?_ is the unsaid question but Tony’s pretty sure Steve can hear it anyway.

The blonde shrugs. ”After the attack of New York Fury got freaked out and called Carol.” ”Carol?” ”Captain Marvel?” Tony shakes his head, showing he still doesn’t know who they’re talking about. ”Well, doesn’t matter. She’s like, the most powerful being in the universe nowadays, probably. Anyway, she looked into it and realized that something called Thanos, I think it was, was trying to collect Infinity Stones. Luckily Carol stopped him before he could get any of them. I can’t even imagine the mess if she hadn’t.”

Tony furrow his eyebrows. ”I’ve never heard of her, which probably means that hasn’t happened in my reality. I should probably call Fury.” ”Yeah, you probably should. Anyway, after that things chilled down really nicely here. There were only dumb humans to deal with instead of aliens. So we ended up having quite a lot of free time. Tony and me had kinda had this sexual tension before that, already, and one thing led to another and…”

”What, so you had nothing else to do so you just started doing each other?” Steve shrugs. ”Pretty much, yeah. That’s how it started but pretty soon it turned into something more than just physical, which I’m thankful for everyday.” Tony hadn’t been expecting that and didn’t really know what to say. ”Nice,” was all he managed, blushing again, _what the hell was going on_ , and catching from the corner of his eye Steve making a face that screamed ’aww’.

It’s quiet for a while, both of them deep in thought for a while, before Steve speaks up again. ”Oh, SHIELD did turn out to be a undercover Hydra organization, that was kind of a big one.” ”What?!” ”Yeah. Who could’ve seen that coming, right? But even that wasn’t that hard to deal with once we found out, we’re a great team and when we work together good things happen.” Tony could only nod dumbly.

”Okay. One more question and then I’ll continue trying to figure out how to deal with this.” ”Sure.” ”This is a big one, Steve, and you don’t have to answer me if it makes you uncomfortable.” ”Okay? You’re making me nervous!” Tony took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart to prepare for the next answer. He cleared his throat and looked into Steve’s now worried eyes.

”When does the beard debut?” Steve stares at him for a moment longer before losing it and starting to laugh. Tony smiles at the visual - Steve is the most beautiful when he laughs freely like that. And being the one to make him laugh… _Pff._

It takes a moment for Steve to collect himself before answering. ”We wen’t to see that Harry Potter movie with young Dumbledore and I caught Tony lusting after Jude Law. I got a bit jealous but then I realized I could use that new knowledge to my own good if I grew a beard of my own.” Tony sent a silent ’thank you’ -prayer to whoever was responsible for making a bearded Jude Law come to their lives.

”It suits you.” Steve looks smug as he grins. ”Oh, I know. Tony has made sure I know just how much he thinks it suits me.” Tony squints his eyes and sighs. ”I’m gonna call you thirsty-Steve from now on, just so you’ll know.” Steve just shrugs again with a wide smile, about to answer with something cocky, probably, when a sudden blow of wind surprises Tony.

He turns around to find a circle-shaped portal, one which his twin has just walked through.

He doesn’t have time to register what has happened when his replica has already ran to bearded Steve who’s standing up now, waiting for his husband with open arms. ”Baby, honey, darling, are you okay?” the 2023 Tony asks as he cups Steve’s cheeks, and the latter smiles, relief clear on his face as he leans down to let their foreheads touch. ”I am now,” he whispers before engaging his husband in a deep, passionate kiss his husband returns eagerly.

Tony is just about to turn away, feeling like he’s prying into something really private (he didn’t _ask_ them to do that in front of him, but still) when someone grabs his bicep a bit too forcefully and turns him around. The moment he comes back to himself Steve already has him on a slightly crushing but most of all grounding hug. He whispers a relieved _Tony_ , and Tony’s body finally lets go of the tension it has been carrying around ever since waking up as he smells the familiar shampoo.

Steve pulls away from the hug and Tony is fully prepared to say one of his trademark snarky comments, has one on just the tip of his tongue when Steve leans to kiss him, too, completely catching him off-guard. He makes a surprised yelp but instantly puts his hands to Steve’s shoulders, not letting him pull away instantly like the last time. Steve doesn’t seem to mind.

”Isn’t that sweet? Young love and all that.” Tony curses himself as he turn to the married couple, now looking at them in turn, Tony’s hand around Steve’s waist possessively. He feels more than sees his Steve blush against his shoulder where he’s hiding from their eyes.

”Yeah, okay, I think we’re done here. Thanks for working that out, by the way,” he says and points vaguely at the direction of the portal still rolling behind them. The other Tony smirks at him. ”No problem, kiddo. But please, for your own good, be more careful in the future.” Tony squints his eyes at him, not sure he was trying to make some dad-joke about their situation but it doesn’t really matter anyway, not when Steve’s lightly pulling his hand towards the portal and clearly more than ready to put this behind them.

It also comes apparent why as Tony steals last glance towards the bearded Steve who has his eyes locked at his younger self, looking him up and down. Older-Tony notices too and grins. ”But hey, now that you know how to get here, don’t be afraid to drop by some time. Preferably when the kids aren’t here, not because I wanted anything weird but it might slightly confusing to them to have too sets of parents. But who knows, I’m up for the weird stuff too if you’re game. Foursome?”

The pace Steve turns bright red can’t be healthy. ”Yeah, okay, we’re leaving,” 2012-Tony says, pointedly giving an unimpressed look at 2023-Tony. He just grins smugly, making Tony roll his eyes. ”Shut up,” he mutters under his breath and lets himself be dragged back to his own reality.

Once the portal closes and they are alone again, Tony turns to his husband to find him still staring at the wall where the portal was, more specifically where his younger self had just stood. He turns to Tony when he feels his gaze and scoffs. ”What a prude!” he huffs, clearly annoyed, and Tony can’t stop laughing even when he presses his lips against his; the familiar feeling reminding him that there’s nowhere he’d rather be.

**Author's Note:**

> you have no idea how many times instead of beard my non-english native ass wrote bear and bread. 'this steve has bread'. there are probably lots of other mistakes in both grammar and spelling, but i'll come fix them tomorrow. i've been staring at this for way too long now.
> 
> hope you liked it <3


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